A Story With a Princess
by Nyarwhall
Summary: Princess Marjorine is to be wed, but will /he/ be happy with the decision?
1. The Princess?

Butters lazily opened his eyes and sat up, when he heard a knock at his bedroom door. He brushed his hair- which had grown out quite long over the last few years, out of his face and yawned before climbing out of his large canopy bed to see who was at the door.

"Marjorine!" A young woman called from the other side of the door. Butters smiled, it was his handmaiden, "Come have breakfast so we can start getting you ready for you big day, princess!"

Butters frowned, he had completely forgotten what was happening today. He had to admit he was a bit nervous, but it was going to be fun, and it wasn't like the whole event could be canceled now. Royal families from all over The Southern Lands were coming all this way to the Stotch Kingdom.

"Okay ma'am!" Butters responded, "I'll be right down."He pulled open his door and ran downstairs, still in his nightdress.

* * *

Leopold Butters Stotch had been born as an heir to the Stotch throne, and had been raised on the premise of becoming king one day. However, the royal advisors had informed the king and queen that Leopold would never be competent enough to run a kingdom, so his mother, Queen Linda, who was unable to have another child, had a plan. They faked Prince Leopold's death, and began to dress him up as a girl. Telling their subjects that he was their illegitimate daughter and new heir, princess Marjorine.

And so it was decided, that _she_ would marry off as soon as _she_ turned fourteen. The days passed, and soon it was Butters' fourteenth birthday. His parents had planned a large ball to celebrate, and had invited suitors to give Butters a chance to get to know them, but in the end, it wasn't going to be his choice who he married. His parents would make the decision for him while he enjoyed the party.

* * *

Butters still had some time before he had to start getting dressed for the ball, so he went out past the courtyard to the stables. He walked in, holding the ends of his dress up to keep it from getting torn on anything on the ground.

"Hey." Butters said, leaning over the gate of an empty pen to see a blond boy sitting distracted by something. The boy practically jolted upright at the sound of him.

"Hey!" Said Tweek Tweak. he was the one who took care of the horses, and was the Princess' closest friend. He was also the only person other than the King and Queen who knew who the Princess really was.

Butters started to walk out of the stables, Tweek quickly following. Tweek stepped ahead of Butters and climbed up into one of the large trees in the courtyard. Butters reached up and Tweek pulled him onto a branch beside him, the other having some trouble climbing a tree in a dress and heels.

"So tonight's your party? Right?!" He asked. Tweek had the tendency to get a bit excitable over things, but he did try to keep calm.

"Ah, well, yeah. But I'm real nervous, Tweek." Butters sighed, pulling his hair over his face to hide his frown. "What if they pick a big, mean, awful prince for me?"

"Oh god! that would be bad!" Tweek said, before stopping himself. "I mean, they probably won't. They're your parents, so they'll choose in your best interests, right?"

Butter shook his head, "We're talkin' about the same parents who said I was too stupid to be king." He mumbled, rubbing his knuckles together nervously. "The party would be way more fun with you there, but my parents said suitors only, sorry..."

"That's fine! I wouldn't have anything to wear anyway!" he laughed a bit, causing the princess to smile. "Do you think you'll have to move when you get married?" Tweek asked.

"Maybe." Butters thought, "I'll make sure that you can come too, I'd be real sad without you to talk to."

Tweek leaned over and gave Butters a tight hug.

"You're gonna be great! And you'll find someone to make you happy!" he assured him.

"Thanks, Tweek." Butters smiled at him, "I don't think any husband will make me as happy as you have as my friend."

* * *

Butter wandered through the halls of the castle, his heels making a satisfying click on the stone floors.

_Today's the day if finally make something of myself. _He thought, a bit unhappy that he wasn't going to be successful on his own_. I'm going to find someone to be happy with, and even if I can't, I'll try to be happy anyways. I just have to do it, and not be nervous, and things will turn out swell, right?_

He chewed his lip, bright red lipstick getting in his mouth.

_I'll be happy, I hope._


	2. The Magic Fades

Princess Marjorine was wearing a light blue dress with pink trim, laced in the middle with gold lace. On his neck was a choker made of blue silk, decorated with a large emerald. Pearl encrusted hairpins held his bangs out of his face, and white gloves were pulled up to his elbows.

"Marjorine, you look great." Bebe, one of his handmaidens said as she fixed his makeup. "How do you feel?"

"Fine, I guess, but do I really need to wear the corset?" Honestly, it wasn't tight at all, and was just being worn under the dress for show. But Butters found the thing stiff and uncomfortable.

"Yes, you'll get used to it." Bebe said, running a brush through his hair one last time, "You're so very lucky, getting to marry a prince."

Linda opened the door, "Bu- Marjorine, the guests are all waiting for you." Butters stood and gave a quick hug to Bebe.

"Good luck Marjorine, have extra fun for me." Bebe said, grinning. Butters nodded a bit and headed downstairs.

Butters slowly walked down the ballroom steps, all eyes focusing on him. His cheeks went pink and he sighed. There were so many people out there, and most of them were trying to marry him. He put on his best smile and got down the stairs, nodding a small greeting to everyone.

He politely declined dances from the princes he walked past, going to get himself a glass of champagne and have a seat.

Some birthday party this is, no one has even said happy birthday. But, as if his mind was read, he heard a quiet voice mutter:

"Uh, Happy Birthday."

Butters looked up, the prince who had said it had short blond hair, which was curly at the top. He was chewing on his thumbnail, and spoke his words around it, making them sound like mumbling.

"Thanks." Butters said with a smile, standing so he was at eye level with him.

"I'm Prince Bradley from the Kingdom of New Grace." He bowed slightly.

"Well, I suppose you already know I'm Princess Marjorine of Stotch." He said with a curtsey. Bradley smiled shyly,

"We should dance, do you want to?" he asked, holding his hand out. After a moment of hesitation, Butters took his hand.

Neither of them were very good dancers, but nonetheless, they enjoyed themselves. Making conversation as they danced. The talked of themselves and of their kingdoms, Butters being careful not to reveal who he actually was. Both Butters and Bradley were so happy, that the ended up losing track of time.

Butters looked up at the clock, it was past midnight and most of the guests had left.

"Bradley, you've been real sweet, but my parents need to talk to me." He said, Bradley taking his arms from around Butters' waist.

"Okay." He smiled a bit, "You're really terrific Marjorine, thanks for spending the evening with me."

And the two of them parted, both hopeful and in love.

Butters hummed happily as he practically skipped down the wide hallways to the throne room. He was to go there and see his parents, and they would tell him who they had decided on. Butters wondered if he was going to marry Prince Bradley. His parents had seen the two of them at the party, so they must have known that Butters cared for him. His worries from before the party had melted away completely.

* * *

The King and Queen both turned their heads when they heard the door open.

"Marjorine!" King Stephen frowned, "You were supposed to be here by twelve o'clock."

"Sorry mom and dad, I was just really enjoying the party is all." he responded, hanging his head. Queen Linda put an arm around him and smiled,

"Well, it is your birthday, so I suppose it's forgivable." she said, before taking a deep breath. "Marjorine, we've found someone for you to wed. We've been talking with your future mother in law, Queen Kenny of Cormickton."

Butters knew of the kingdom of Cormickton. they were good people, but they fought wars they couldn't win and often ended up in debt. He knew his parents had done this as a financial move.

Butters frowned, looking over to see that Queen Kenny was in the room with them. He hadn't noticed her before. Butters gave a small curtsey and nodded.

"And so Marjorine," Stephen said with a forced smile, "You will be marrying Queen Kenny's adopted son, Prince Eric Cartman."


	3. The Mask Falls

And so, with reluctance. Butters packed his bags to go live with a boy he had never met before; he felt like that was his own fault, since he had spent the whole party with Bradley. Still, he was hopeful, maybe Prince Eric was going to be really sweet and they would be happy together, maybe he was going to have lots of fun.

He left early in the morning to make the trip to Cormickton, making sure Tweek went with him of course.

"Hey Tweek," Butters said with a sigh, as the two of the sat in the carriage together. "Do you think I'm getting all worried for nothin'?"

"Not for nothing, Butters!" The excitable blond responded, running his fingers through Butters hair comfortingly, "Worrying isn't healthy, it makes horses worried too!" an irrelevant justification, but it seemed to cheer Butters up a bit.

"Well, I guess that's true." he giggled a bit. The two friends made idle conversation to pass the time for the rest of the ride there..

* * *

Butters could tell that the kingdom of Cormickton was... not very economically advantaged, but it didn't bother him. Besides, once he was married, they would be sharing wealth with Stotch, so it wouldn't be a problem.

In the castle, Queen Kenny and Prince Eric both awaited Princess Marjorine, though only the queen approached the Princess when he arrived.

"Princess Marjorine, I'd like you to meet my son." The Queen said, her words slightly muffled. Butters gave a small curtsey, Tweek bowing deeply, but staying a few feet behind the Princess.

"Well, I'd be honoured to." Butters said with a smile.

* * *

During supper, not much conversation was made. Butters did try to start conversations, but try as he might, he was always interrupted, then promptly silenced by Eric; Butters found soon enough that he didn't like Eric at all. He smiled though, and tried to get on the good side of the family, though it seemed only to make the prince more annoyed with him.

After getting a tour of the castle from Queen Kenny, Butters decided to go take a bath, so he could relax and not have to deal with Eric for a bit.

* * *

Butters sunk into the hot water in the bath, surrounded by bubbles. This was nice, he didn't have to worry about anything and it seemed like the whole world could have stopped and he wouldn't have cared. He scooped up some of the bubbles in the palm of his hand and blew them away, giggling as they floated through the air.

Honestly Butters didn't like being royalty at all, it was so much pressure, leaving him only time to enjoy himself truly when he was by himself or talking to Tweek. Well, there was also the time he had spent with Bradley, but he had to forget about that now, he probably wasn't going to even talk to Bradley again.

Caught up in his thoughts of Prince Bradley, he hardly noticed the door open until someone was already there. When he looked up to see who was there, he saw his husband-to-be, Eric.

"Eric, what are you doing in here?" he asked, "I'm indecent!"

Eric took one look at him and frowned,

"You're not really a Princ_ess_, are you, Marjorine?"


	4. Bad News

Butters frowned, looking at Eric with wide eyes. This was bad. like, really bad.

"It's true! Don't tell anyone, though, please! if my parents knew that you knew, then I'd get in lots of trouble."

"Calm down, Marjorine. You're still useful for my plan." Eric said, waving his hand dismissively.

"Plan?" he enquired, brow raised.

"Well, duh!" The brunet replied, rolling his eyes. "You didn't think I showed up at your party because I liked you, did you?"

Well, of course Butters didn't think that, it was obvious from the others behaviour; Still, it hurt to have it said out loud.

"Well, I'll let you finish your bath, sir." Cartman said, smirking at him before wandering out. Butters sighed a small sigh in relief, but he still wondered what Eric had meant about his plan. He pondered it while he washed his hair, hoping the man wouldn't do anything stupid. Well, he was sure it wasn't going to be stupid, just awful. If Cormickton wasn't doing well now, it would be worse off once Cartman had complete control over it.

After he was done getting washed, he dried off and threw on his nightdress, not being able to relax in the bath now. He headed over to his bedroom, which he was sharing with Tweek until other arrangements were made.

"Gah! Oh, hey Butters." Tweek smiled at him, taken a bit off guard by the sudden entry. Butters frowned and hugged Tweek tightly.

"I don't like Prince Cartman at all." he mumbled into the stable boy's shoulder. Tweek ran his hand along Butters back comfortingly, "And, he found out that I'm not really a girl."

"Oh god?! Really?" Tweek asked, surprised. "Is he calling off the wedding?!"

Butters shook his head, "No, he says he has some plan, or something..."

"I'll keep an eye on him, when I can!" Tweek offered, "They won't suspect me of doing anything!"

"Well, okay, but be careful."

* * *

The wedding was going to take place once King Craig returned from battle, but really no one was sure when that would happen, and a few less optimistic people didn't even think it was going to happen. Butters did hope for Craig's sake that he would be safe back in Cormickton soon, but it was hard to say that when it just meant he would soon be married off to Eric.

Now that Eric knew Butters was not a maiden, he wasn't holding back in his mean nature. Any chance he could find when no one was looking, he did his very best to make butters' life miserable. Whether it be with an awful trick, a hard hit to the face, or even just a string of insults, Butters couldn't stand a minute with him, let alone accept that this was the man he was going to be spending his life with. Still, everyone else seemed so excited for him.

For once his parents seemed interested in him, and the two kingdoms could be heard celebrating from far outside the walls. Even Queen Kenny seemed so happy to have a daughter in law, and had brought him out to be fitted for a wedding gown. Butters couldn't just say he wasn't going to marry him, everyone would be so disappointed.

* * *

Butters was in the throne room, making happy small talk with Queen Kenny, when someone stormed in with an urgent look on their face.

Butters could tell by the thick, curly, red hair that this was none other than Sir Kyle, a loyal servant to the Cormickton throne. Both Butters and the queen both straightened in their seats to hear the news.

"What is it, Sir Kyle?" the queen asked. Kyle frowned pulling out a scroll.

"I regret to inform you that, King Craig Tucker-McCormick of Cormickton, has fallen in battle." he said. Kenny's eyes grew wide and a small gasp escaped her lips. She regained her composure, and nodded a bit.

"Well," She said with a solemn expression, "I suppose this means the wedding can take place next week then."


	5. No!

It was Tuesday evening, after the funeral of King Craig, that things went from bad to worse. It was during a solemn dinner that the Queen suddenly fainted, and was taken up to her room. She was barely conscious, and wasn't breathing properly.

Butters stayed in her room with her until a doctor could be sent over to check on her.

"She's been poisoned," he explained after a short time, "I can't tell what kind of poison was used, however, so I doubt we can cure it."

Butters nodded, "Oh."

"It's a shame," The man added in a hushed voice, "To lose both the king and queen in the same week, I do hope that Eric will do well on the throne."

"I'm sure he'll be a great leader." Butters lied, chewing his lip. He stepped out of the room and was immediately pulled aside by Tweek.

"Butters! I have to tell you something." he whisper-shouted to him with a sense of urgency.

"What is it?" Butters asked.

"I was watching Cartman, and I saw him-" Tweek was interrupted when he felt a hand tightly gripping his shoulder.

"Tweek." Cartman was angry, that much was obvious. He glared at the two of them and sighed.

"He's trying to hurt the princess!" Eric shouted, pointing to Tweek. "Arrest him!"

"Now hey, you can't do that!" The princess in question protested, "This isn't your kingdom!"

"Isn't it, Marjorine? Isn't it?" Eric smirked, walking off and leading guards to carry Tweek away.

* * *

It was the middle of the night, so Butters had to be quiet so he wouldn't wake anyone up. He snuck through the halls barefoot, making his way to the basement and down to the dungeons. It was dark and spooky down there, and everyone he walked past looked like they wanted to kill him, and with good reason; they probably assumed he was responsible for their arrest.

He ignored the glares from convicted criminals until he found his way to where Tweek was locked up. He was chewing his lip and fidgeting.

"Hey Tweek." Butters whispered, "You okay?"

Tweek shrugged, "I'm fine now, but they're planning on beheading me tomorrow!" it was hard for him to keep his voice down. Butters pulled out a key and unlocked the cell with a quiet click, pulling the door open. Tweek grinned and pulled Butters into a tight hug.

"You should run back to Stotch, you'll be fine there." Butters headed back upstairs, "I have somewhere else I need to go."

* * *

Bradley was spending a rainy Saturday morning in the throne room, watching his parents deal with government matters, when the doors swung open and someone rushed in. It was princess Marjorine, and though she was tired and soaked from the rain, Bradley thought she looked just as lovely as when she had been dressed up at the ball. Bradley completely disregarded his parents and ran to take Marjorine's hand and lead her upstairs to a guest bedroom.

"Marjorine? What are you doing here?" He asked, sitting her down on the bed and standing beside her.

"I walked all the way here." She said, sighing softly. "I'm supposed to marry Prince Eric, but I just can't do it, he's really truly evil." She pouted and squeezed Bradley's warm hand. "I still love you."

Bradley sat down next to her, pulling her into an embrace.

"I still love you too, I-i'll figure out how to save you! W-we can even elope!"

Marjorine smiled hopefully,

"Thank you." She paused, looking hesitant. "But I should probably tell you something first."

"What is it?" Bradley asked, in too good a mood to be bothered by whatever she was to say.

"Well, you know Prince Butters, who died?" She sighed, biting at her lip. "Well, he didn't die. I'm Butters!"

Bradley's eyes widened, she was a HE?

"No!" The nervous prince shouted, backing away from Butters. "You can't be! You're just the devil, trying to lead me down the path of sin!" Bradley chewed his thumb nervously, his breathing speeding up. "You have to leave!"

* * *

**Authors note: Sorry for the long wait for this chapter, I got writers block, even though I had the whole thing planned out. I want to thank everyone for their nice reviews, and I think the next chapter will be the last one, so let's hope I don't screw up and write it really anticlimactically! **


	6. And so

It was Sunday, and wedding bells were soon to be ringing. The chapel was filled with guests, nobility and the likes each focused on the the bride.

The wedding dress was lacy with a long train held up by a servant. Queen Kenny had said the dress made Marjorine look powerful, but Butters couldn't have felt any less powerless in this situation. He was about to marry someone who could care less about him, and his love had sent him away without explanation.

Music started to play and he slowly made his way down the aisle, trying not to stumble or trip. Eyes were glued onto him, and he felt like they were judging his every movement. He made it to the end of the aisle and took a deep breath as the priest began to read vows from a thick book. The vows were nothing special, as to be expected in an arranged marriage like this, and Butters was hardly paying attention to what was being said.

When he finally focused back in on the words, everyone was staring at him. _Oh hamburgers, I missed my cue_, he thought to himself.

"Um, I-i do!" he quickly answered, not like he had another choice in the matter.

The priest rolled his eyes and sighed.

Butters tensed up, this was it, no one was going to come save him were tears in his eyes, but if anyone saw, they would have mistaken them for tears of joy.

"Then as long as no one has any reason why these two should not be wed-" the priest began, but was cut off by a weak voice in the back of the chapel.

"I-i have a reason!" The words were practically murmured, but in Butters' ears, they rang loud and strong.

"Bradley?!" Butters beamed and ran to hug him, but fell forwards on the ground before he could get near anywhere; Eric had tripped him.

"And what would this reason be?" The priest asked, watching the scene with a bit of confusion as Bradley ran to help the princess up.

"Because," he began, wrapping his arms around Butters, "This isn't Princess Marjorine, this is Prince Leopold Butters!"

The whole room gasped, and Butters could see his parent's faces going red with anger.

"I-it's true!" he said, "And I'm darn tired of trying to be someone I'm not!" he smiled proudly.

Queen Linda stood up, glaring at him.

"Butters! Your father and I have done so much to get you here, and you're going to throw it all away?!"

"You're not going to do anything well on your own!" His father added, staring daggers at him. Butters just nodded, hanging his head down. Bradley looked at him with sympathy and squeezed his hand.

"Actually," Butters looked up at his parents, "Actually mom and dad, no. I'm sick of you telling me that I'm not good enough, or that i can't do things by myself! I am perfectly capable! maybe I need a little bit of help sometimes, but everyone does, even you! I don't need a man to have a happy life, mom and dad." He glanced to Bradley and smiled, "But maybe I want one."

The Stotch parents were speechless, and stared at their son with wide eyes, slowly sitting down.

"Can we call the wedding off?" Butters quietly asked the priest, who just nodded, not wanting to get involved in the drama.

Prince Cartman was fuming.

"No! My plan won't work without a princess to marry! I killed the Queen for nothing!" He said, then quickly covered his mouth when he realized what he had just let slip.

"You bastard!" Kyle called from the crowd, and a pair of guards began to drag the angry prince away.

"Well, we might as well not waste all this wedding setup." Butters said to Bradley, "Let's be wed today!" The two of them kissed and the crowd began to clap for them. Queen Kenny walked up to Butters and gave him a pat on the back.

"Hey Queen Kenny," Butters asked, "Do you think I could still call you mom?" the Queen laughed and nodded,

"Now let's do this, we came here for a wedding, didn't we?" She exclaimed.

* * *

And so the two kingdoms of Stotch and New Grace were united with the marriage of Prince Leopold and Prince Bradley, each of them growing up to become very successful Kings in their own ways. Though Bradley's parents didn't approve, they let their son do what made him happy.

Prince Eric was arrested, of course. And though Queen Kenny argued that he should have been charged with murder, he was charged with treason and attempted murder.

Queen Kenny retired from the throne and titled herself Lady Kenny, giving control of the kingdom to Kyle, who managed not only to solve many of it's problems, but assured it was thriving so long as he was king.

So, after everything was said and done, I suppose,

_**They all lived happily ever after. **_

_**The end.**_

* * *

**Author's note: Well, that's all. I hope you enjoyed it. This was my second multichapter fic, and also my second South park fic, and I had so much fun writing it! Once again, thanks for all the reviews, and make sure to follow me, as I look forward to writing more South park fics in the near future!**


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